WhatsApp is rolling out new parental controls that give guardians more oversight of teen accounts. The settings, gated behind a PIN set by parents, allow adults to limit which channels teens can follow, whose Status updates they see, and who can view their profile picture. Parents can also control who can add teens to groups and receive notifications when a teen joins or leaves a group, or when a group grows to 30, 100, or 250 members. Any change to these settings requires the parent's PIN, and guardians can turn the controls off entirely if they choose.
The update also extends to Meta AI. Parents can select a default 13+ content setting or a stricter "Limited Content" option that disables features like incognito chat and message summaries. WhatsApp stressed that messages and calls remain end-to-end encrypted, and no one—including Meta—can see them.
The move is part of a broader push by Meta to address child-safety concerns, which have drawn lawsuits and regulatory scrutiny. In August, the company agreed to pay an $18 billion fine to settle a lawsuit brought by 29 U.S. states. This year alone, Meta has introduced movie-rating-inspired content controls, launched parental controls for Meta AI interactions, added pre-teen accounts on WhatsApp, and begun alerting parents when children search for self-harm content on Instagram.